Songbyrd and Union Stage PresentAll Ages

Zora Neale Hurston was an acclaimed novelist who studied the vast complexity of black culture. She was a curious soul who wrote about everything—from
marriage and Caribbean voodoo to the American South—by fully immersing herself in it. Yet for whatever reason, Hurston never got the credit she
deserved when she was alive; even her masterwork—1937’s Their Eyes Were Watching God—was excoriated by fellow authors in the Harlem
Renaissance. Undeterred, Hurston lived abundantly, sailing through criticism with the utmost grace.

Jamila Woods celebrates the icon on “ZORA,” the first single of her forthcoming album
LEGACY! LEGACY!, by singing from Hurston’s imagined perspective. Woods—in the spirit of Hurston—hears all the scrutiny from
the likes of Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison, but it doesn’t affect her in the slightest. “Your words don’t leave scars/Believe me I’ve heard
it all,” Woods declares with a shrug. Hurston was different: Born in 1891 in Alabama, she grew up around black excellence and could readily
engage with pastors and lawmakers who enforced her creativity. She was never taught to feel inferior because of her skin color. Woods honors that
independence and does a masterful job of connecting past and present, using contemporary R&B to laud Hurston’s character. It’s not only a vibrant
cut, it’s a proper kiss-off to those who think they know you, though they haven’t taken time to engage. Hurston never stopped growing; she filled
her enemies with white light.